Thursday Night A Ride

JOSEPHWEISSERT

Zen MBB Master
Here's a video of the Thursday night A ride. But some explanation is necessary first. The group started out on a really fast ride of around 40 miles. The entire ride was balls to the walls, which is normal. On the final stretch of a few miles, the remaining group splits in half as three riders fall back. The V goes around them and catches the three front riders. Watch the guy with the flasher. Eventually, he takes off and leaves the other two in his dust. So the Vendetta, having a mind of its own, takes over control and gives chase. This guy's going on and on like a bat out of hell. Just amazing power output. Finally, I catch up to him while we're still a ways off from the stop ahead sign, which is the destination for the final sprint (unofficially, of course). I cruise up quickly behind him at full speed while he's getting a drink, probably assuming he's left everyone in his dust many miles behind because he's an unbelievable animal on a bike (which is true). He probably didn't expect that stupid recumbent to come out of nowhere like a red rocket and blow past him at full speed. As I passed him, a car passed me, providing a distraction. But he realized what I had done and he quickly jumped in a massive sprint. I was going all out and he was quickly growing bigger and bigger in my mirrors anyway. And then I passed the sign. And then he passed me. This guy sprinted on a DF to catch an all out Vendetta. Just amazing. Enjoy the show.

 

super slim

Zen MBB Master
Good video, and smooth riding!!!
What Camera are you using and what mount as there is very little of your shoes in view!
 

JOSEPHWEISSERT

Zen MBB Master
What Camera are you using and what mount as there is very little of your shoes in view!
That's a Fly6, which only has 720p resolution. It isn't very conducive to mounting, so I took off the bracket, added some stick-on Velcro on the bottom and right side, stuck it in a little valley to the left of the chain ring, strapped it in with a Velcro strap, and then put on a strip of electrical tape as a redundant backup. I thought it would be blocked by the chain ring, but it turned out better than expected. As you can see, it's still a pretty rough ride up there.
 

JOSEPHWEISSERT

Zen MBB Master
So I found out who this guy is. He was a professional athlete from 1995 to 2003 and competed in the Olympics as a runner. No wonder he has power.
 

JOSEPHWEISSERT

Zen MBB Master
Has he asked about the Vendetta yet???
Nope. I suspect he is like most DF riders: stuck in an outdated paradigm. But, according to a friend this morning, there was a lot of talking going on about the Vendetta at the Saturday morning ride today. A few DF riders were going for a stop ahead sign at 33 mph. I came up beside them and then went on past at 35 mph. That took the wind out of their sails. Unfortunately, the video was overwritten because I went out for a lot of extra miles after the shop ride. Rats!
 
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JOSEPHWEISSERT

Zen MBB Master
So I did 78.5 miles this morning total including the shop ride. When I got home, my Catalyst wheel covers were on the step waiting for me. My Vendetta was happy. I ate lunch, put on the covers, and went out for 28 more miles. I wanted to see how they perform, and since I was still under 100 miles and the weather had cleared up, I had three reasons to go back out. The verdict? Sa-weet! They make a tiny bit of noise that is barely noticeable, and not annoying at all. They held on just fine (I was worried that they might come untaped out in the countryside and I would have to take them off and come back for them in a car.) But they held on 100%. I went on a chip and seal road and some really crappy roads to see how well they survived over rough terrain. They had no problems at all. As far as stability, it was somewhat windy, but I was at least as stable as before, maybe more stable. I just felt really stable. And for speed, they didn't slow me down at all, that's for sure. But I have no way to measure the effect on speed. The price is $299 and they take a little patience to tape on. But my opinion is that they are a good choice. So now I have a rock-solid Ksyrium SL non-drive wheel on the back of the Vendetta with Catalyst covers. And there is more! They look really cool, so my wife will be happy also.
 

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
So I did 78.5 miles this morning total including the shop ride. When I got home, my Catalyst wheel covers were on the step waiting for me. My Vendetta was happy. I ate lunch, put on the covers, and went out for 28 more miles. I wanted to see how they perform, and since I was still under 100 miles and the weather had cleared up, I had three reasons to go back out. The verdict? Sa-weet! They make a tiny bit of noise that is barely noticeable, and not annoying at all. They held on just fine (I was worried that they might come untaped out in the countryside and I would have to take them off and come back for them in a car.) But they held on 100%. I went on a chip and seal road and some really crappy roads to see how well they survived over rough terrain. They had no problems at all. As far as stability, it was somewhat windy, but I was at least as stable as before, maybe more stable. I just felt really stable. And for speed, they didn't slow me down at all, that's for sure. But I have no way to measure the effect on speed. The price is $299 and they take a little patience to tape on. But my opinion is that they are a good choice. So now I have a rock-solid Ksyrium SL non-drive wheel on the back of the Vendetta with Catalyst covers. And there is more! They look really cool, so my wife will be happy also.

Joe, My experience mirrors that, I have been doing testing at the track, I have them on an identical wheel to my normal one. So once I get the protocol down I should be able to give you the CDA measurement delta. In the meantime they feel fast so I call them purple,. That said I didn't run it for the 100 mile rain ride today, I am not that brave, and yuck I would have had to clean it afterwards
 
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